http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
WE NOW HAVE irrefutable proof that the Democrats are scared silly
about Republicans winning the White House and retaining control of both
houses of Congress. Only such desperation could explain their bizarre
lawsuit against Majority Whip Tom Delay.

No less a moral icon than Rep. Patrick Kennedy (R. I.) is
spearheading this suit that accuses Delay of helping to form three
tax-exempt organizations that he has used as vehicles for political
extortion and money laundering. By threatening to withhold favorable
action on legislation affecting them, Delay allegedly pressured entities
to make contributions to these organizations (extortion). And by falsely
asserting that the organizations were not political committees they
avoided the requirement that their donor lists be publicly disclosed --
even though the organizations passed these funds on to the Republican
Party (money laundering).

Kennedy chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and
has a vested interest in obstructing Delay's Republican fundraising
efforts on behalf of congressional Republicans. Indeed, Kennedy
acknowledged that he couldn't wait on the Department of Justice or
Federal Election Commission to investigate because their investigation
wouldn't be in time to prevent the organizations from flooding key
congressional races with money.

In the press conference announcing his lawsuit, Kennedy conveniently
forgot to mention the fact that several top Democratic Party
contributors have used similar techniques to keep their donors private.
He also failed to reveal that his suit relies solely on hearsay gleaned
through newspaper articles concerning Delay's fundraising activities. No
one was interviewed, nor was any investigation conducted prior to the
filing of the suit.

The Clinton administration has amassed quite a legacy in misusing the
judicial system to circumvent the legislative process and force
companies, such as tobacco and gun manufacturers, to take action in
accordance with its dictates. Now its Democrat counterparts in Congress
are following suit (pun intended).

The civil action was filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
Organizations Act (RICO), a federal statute aimed at organized crime.
Even G. Robert Blakey, one of the law professors who helped draft RICO,
admits that Kennedy's lawsuit is a misuse of RICO, which was designed to
cover business and personal activities rather than political dealings.

Let's be honest. This lawsuit is not about campaign finance abuses.
It is transparently motivated to accomplish several goals: 1) to dry up
GOP congressional fundraising; 2) to enable Democrats to obtain
confidential campaign information through the discovery process and 3)
to demonize Tom Delay. Democrats have been looking for a suitable devil
to replace Newt Gingrich since he retired and thus far, nothing has
stuck to Delay. They figure this high-profile case may turn that around.
Making Delay a symbol of evil would aid them in nationalizing their
effort to recapture Congress by instilling fear in the voters about a
Republican Congress led by this "criminal."

What really frosts me here is the Democrats' selective indignation
about alleged campaign finance violations. If Kennedy and his colleagues
were truly concerned about campaign finance abuses they would quit
posturing and help Republicans get to the bottom of Charles LaBella's
disturbing revelations before a Senate subcommittee Monday. LaBella
recommended to Janet Reno that she seek the appointment of an
independent prosecutor to investigate the connection between President
Clinton and Bernard Schwartz, the Democratic Party's largest individual
donor in 1995-1996. The Washington Times, in a May 7 editorial, laid out
the "quid-pro-quo chronology of political donations from Schwartz ...
and the favorable technology-transfer decisions the Clinton
administration made that greatly benefited Schwartz's firm (Loral Corp.)
to the detriment of U.S. national security." I would urge everyone who
is remotely interested in this nation's security to read this chilling
editorial and study its timeline.

Honestly, which is cause for greater concern: hearsay allegations of
campaign finance abuses that result in an advantage to a political party
or allegations by the former head prosecutor of the Justice Department's
campaign task force of campaign finance abuses that result in an
advantage to a political party and severe and permanent damage
to the national security?

Until Congressman Kennedy and his Nero-fiddling friends quit playing
partisan games and put the interests of their country ahead of their
party they will have no credibility. They ought to be thrown out of
court and out of
office.

JWR contributor
David Limbaugh
is an
attorney
practicing in
Cape Girardeau,
Missouri,
and a
political
analyst
and
commentator. Send your comments to him by clicking here.